OK, you know Your Survival Guy likes to hunker down in his cave for the winter. But on occasion, I’ll venture out amongst the throngs for an adventure. This is where I found myself Monday with family and friends for the National Hockey League’s outdoor Winter Classic between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Boston Bruins at Fenway Park in Boston, MA.
The Winter Classic is the NHL’s mid-season Super Bowl, if you will, without the trophy but absolutely with the fanfare, including the most famous goal scorer in Bruins history, Bobby Orr dropping/pitching the first puck, Bell Biv DeVoe singing the national anthem, F-15s doing a flyover, the Black Keys performing between periods one and two, the Boston Pops covering “I’m Shipping Up to Boston,” and somewhere in between it all, a hockey game.
Ahhh, about the game. A little slow. No score in the first period. The Penguins took an early 1-0 lead in the second. During the second intermission, on the big screen out near the bleachers and the Green Monster, as a video clip began with “here are today’s highlights,” a faithful Bruins fan stood up and yelled, “There were no (bleepin’) highlights!”
And then, halfway through the third, Bruins winger Brad Marchand made a nifty move to beat his defender just inside the Penguins’ zone, passed to Jake DeBrusk positioned to the side of the net, taking the puck like a fullback willing his way to the front to tuck it in for a goal. 40,000 fans went crazy—the loudest hockey goal I’ve ever heard—game on! With two minutes left, Bruins left winger Taylor Hall received a pass in the zone, skated across center, shot, save! Rebound, goal! Jake DeBrusk! Pandemonium! And in the final seconds, the Penguins final shot crossed the goal line just after time expired. Wow. Final score 2-1 Bruins.
Action Line: Nothing wrong with staying in your cave and being careful with your savings. But don’t forget to make some memories every now and then.
